Explosive Romance
by byakatsu
Summary: Sakura has always been strong, but ever since Naruto's strange disappearance the air of strength she surrounded herself with has been slowly deteriorating. When she runs into a certain Akatsuki member, her hope for finding her lost teammate is restored, but not without consequence. Will Sakura be able to find Naruto whilst walking a path of forbidden love? DeiSaku, slight KakaSaku
1. Chapter 1

Deidara wandered the lonely streets of the miserable little town. He knew he wasn't alone. The civilian he had passed earlier who had eyed his gold necklace had been following him for some time now, but it wasn't as if it were anything to worry about – after all, he was only a civilian.

Deidara sniggered to himself. _This should be fun, yeah_.

He found a small alleyway and lit up a cigarette. He could feel the man draw closer and closer, his untamed chakra running wild with excitement. Deidara loved that about normal humans; unlike ninja, their chakra was crazy, and gave away every emotion they felt. Most people knew that, so they didn't like associating themselves with ninja, as they saw them as cruel mind readers who would use their emotions against them. It amused him, so he never wore his forehead protector anymore, as it found it fun to play games with unsuspecting mundanes.

As the smoke filled his lungs, Deidara wondered if the man would still be attempting to attack him if he were wearing his Akatsuki robes. Over time he came to realize that when he wore them, no one ever approached him, or even looked at him for that matter, but now that he had to leave them behind for missions more and more trouble had been arousing. He missed the uncomfortable black and red robes for the very reason that people cowered in fear when they spotted him, and it angered him that he had to leave them behind. It was that stupid Kyuubi brats fault, ever since he went missing, leaf and sand ninja had been searching every corner of the damn world for him, meaning the Akatsuki had to lay low to not attract attention. Deidara hated that; if it were up to him, he'd be turning each and every one of those sad excuses ninja into works of art, but orders from above prevented anyone from making any 'rash' moves.

A laugh sounded from behind him. _And the fun begins_.

Deidara ducked, just in time to dodge the crow bar flying at his head. In one swift movement, he spun on his heel and butt out the cigarette on the man's face, his groan of pain cut off by Deidara grabbing his neck and slamming him against the cold wall.

"You were aiming that for my head, yeah?" He growled. "That kills people, you know?"

Deidara could feel the man tremble underneath his grip. He looked as if he hadn't bathed in weeks, and the concept of shaving had eluded him for all his years. By the looks of him, he supposed that he didn't have a great life himself, but by Deidaras logic, if he was sneaky enough to go for an attack from behind he would probably be the kind to attack children or people who had no means to defend themselves. Deidara, on the other hand, was perfectly capable of putting up a fight, and the fact that he already had blood on his hands meant that to him killing a corrupt member of society was like stomping on a bug; if it got in his way, there would be no second thought to crushing it.

With his free hand he reached into his clay pouch and chewed up a little clay bug. C1 would do the trick.

The bug leaped onto the man's frail looking shoulder as Deidara let go of his neck. The feeling of relief that filled the man's eyes nearly made him feel guilty for what he was about to do, but he reminded himself that if he hadn't attacked Deidara today he might have gone after someone helpless, so Deidara was ultimately doing the right thing.

A smirk graced his lips as a sense of anticipation grew within him.

"T-thank you!" Stammered the man, oblivious to the clay sculpture that graced his shoulder.

"Shut up." Deidara rolled his eyes. After taking one last look at the man, Deidara muttered 'katsu' under his breath, eyes widening at the sight that unfolded before him.

The high started from his very core and spread through his body like a wave. He felt warm inside, and it reminded him that being a cold blooded criminal really wasn't that bad if there were no restrictions on what he could do with his art. Although the explosion was small, it sent shivers down his spine with the fleeting image of the little clay sculpture erupting into a powerful destructive force. It was over in mere seconds, and yet in its wake it left a scene that anyone else would call tragic. He couldn't help the smile that emerged on his face. _Beautiful._

It was over, and Deidara's thoughts were finally on the situation on hand. The man had fallen to the ground, screaming. His whole face was twisted in pain, apart from his eyes, which were so wide and fixated on the arm that lay by his side in a pool of blood that they looked as if they would pop out any second. Deidara grinned at the mess he had created, but figured he had better get moving or else someone might notice him there.

"Get off the ground and get some help, or else you'll die. I hope that losing an arm will prevent you from attacking anyone else who's done nothing to deserve it, hn." Deidara began walking away from the dying man, readying a bird for quick getaway.

"Monster!" He yelled.

Deidara ignored him and jumped on his clay bird.

"I'll get you for this! I swear I will!" He continued.

"You couldn't even touch me with two arms, what makes you think you'll be able to get me with one?" He taunted. The man muffled a reply back, but Deidara ignored it, taking flight and fleeing the bloody scene.

* * *

><p>Kakashi and Sakura had been running for two minutes already. The large bang followed by shrieks of pain could be heard from miles away in the desolate town. The pair navigated their way through deserted factories and half destroyed houses to try and reach the scene of the crime in time to save whoever had been hurt. Sakura could feel the victim's unrefined chakra beginning to wane, and the screams had died down, meaning that there wasn't much time left to get to them.<p>

"We have to speed it up," she ordered.

Kakashi nodded. She wasn't usually the one giving orders to him, but in a situation like this which meant life or death for someone, he stepped aside and let her do what she had to.

They had finally reached the final stretch, and they sped up as fast as their feet would allow them. The smell of blood hung in the air, and their eyes searched for any clue to what would've happened. A pool of fresh blood was oozing through the cracks in the street, flowing out steadily from a laneway in between two tall, grey buildings.

"Nobody can lose that much and survive," noted Kakashi, grimly.

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Sakura was a good medic, but she doubted she would be able to fully heal this person with the current tools she had on her. She could ease his pain, maybe, but it was the end of the road for this poor soul.

They finally reached the alleyway. A man, presumably in his late 30s, lay in a pool of his own blood next to his own burnt, tattered and detached arm. Sakura rushed to his side, ignoring the blood that soaked into the fabric of her clothing. She propped him up on her lap to get a better reach of where his arm once was. He had busted a few arteries, hence all of the blood, but if she was able to slow the blood flow, he could survive for another half hour at most. That would give them enough time to find out what had happened to cause the bloody scene.

She placed her palm over the affected area and willed her chakra into him, expertly weaving it through his veins, and adding a little extra to dull the pain. Something that would usually be simple to her was now requiring her full attention, as her chakra was running low from travelling for 5 days with minimum rations. A ninja needs food to maintain power, it was a basic rule, but Sakura had been naïve whilst planning for the mission on hand. Kakashi and herself had taken the route that ensured the least amount of human contact as possible as they didn't want to risk getting seen; if word got out about their plans, the mission would be ruined. Sakura's mistake was forgetting to pack extra food as she wouldn't be able to buy more at town stop offs. Kakashi was kind enough to give her some of his share, but it was still not enough for Sakura to stay in her prime form.

"Kakashi, when he wakes up, I want you to ask him what happened here. I can't do two things at once right now," she instructed.

"Okay. Whatever you need, don't be afraid to ask," he replied.

After a few minutes, the man stirred beneath her. "My… arm…" he murmured. He tried to move, but Sakura held him down.

"Don't try to move. You may feel okay now, but you're not. I'm doing the best I can to keep you alive as it is."

Kakashi spoke up then. "We have a few questions we would like you to answer, so whenever you're ready please let us know."

The man gave Kakashi the best icy glare he could manage in his current state. "Why should I?"

He smiled back, eyes crinkling at the sides. "Because right now your life is in our hands."

"You wouldn't even dare," his voice was barely a whisper, yet he still managed to convey enough attitude to piss Sakura off.

"Sakura?" Kakashi looked at her expectantly. She really didn't want to do what he expected her to. All he was asking her to do was give the man a little bit of pain, but even so he was a dying man. Admittedly, he seemed like a rude one, but he was still dying. She didn't want to have to do this.

_Whatever you have to do to complete this mission, do it._ Tsunade's words echoed in her mind. She knew in the long run if this man was in fact related to what they were investigating it would help the mission, but was it worth it? If he had nothing to do with their mission, which he most likely didn't, she would be inflicting crippling pain onto an innocent civilian in his dying moments.

Sakura took a deep breath. She was a jounin now. She wasn't as experienced as the others, and compared to other ninja she led a happy, successful life. Tsunade always told her it made her soft and too compassionate for her own good. She knew if she was serious about her job she would do it, but…

Sighing in resignation, she withdrew a little of her chakra. The man's eyes widened and he clenched his jaw. She could tell now he would be feeling an incredible amount of pain, although he was stubborn and refused to show it. If he kept this up, his body would go numb by itself from loss of blood, but that wouldn't be for another ten minutes or so with Sakura still slowing the blood flow. She hoped that he wasn't _that _stubborn, partly for the sake of the mission and partly for his own sake.

A minute passed, and the man finally gave in. "Fine! I'll talk." Sakura smiled to herself and numbed the pain again.

"Good," Kakashi said. "Now, tell me, what happened here?"

"I got into a fight," he replied, tiredly.

"Clearly. Be more specific." His words were cold. It was a side of him Sakura wasn't used to seeing, but for missions this serious she could see why he had to do it. She knew it must have pained him saying it, considered it pained her just hearing it, but at the same time she felt the urge to cringe away from this Kakashi she didn't recognise.

The man exhaled and let out a halfhearted 'hmph'. "I tried to attack a guy for his necklace. I needed the money. He choked me and put a white bug on my shoulder. It exploded on my arm. He flew away on a bird that came out of nowhere," he explained, half hoarsely, half sarcastically. "It isn't exactly the most believable story."

For those few moments, she felt like she could cut through the silence with a knife. The tension in the air was palpable, and Sakura had to do her best not to lose focus. It was all too familiar, and with the look on Kakashi's, face, he felt exactly the same. She shook herself off. _It's just a coincidence. Lots of people use similar jutsu. No big deal._

Kakashi cleared his throat, regaining his cool. "What colour was the man's hair, and how long was it?"

"Long, blonde," he strained his voice to answer, "side fringe, half ponytail."

It was the answer she didn't want to hear. The revelation came to quick, leaving her to get lost in her own thoughts at the worst of times. She was half aware of the man starting to cough violently, but she didn't care anymore. No, who he just described was _Deidara_. The hair matched. The jutsu matched. The Akatsuki hadn't been active for two whole years, it couldn't be right…

… But if it was right, there was a chance of her finding Naruto.

Naruto, who had gone missing two years ago, the same time that the Akatsuki became inactive. She refused to believe that he was dead. When Naruto went missing, the Akatsuki had control over four tailed beasts. In the next two weeks, they had gained possession of another 3, and after that, they went dead. Some people believe they got their clutches on Naruto, but Sakura hadn't given up hope. There was no solid proof that Naruto was dead, and as cheesy as it sounded, she felt that if she lost him, one of her best friends, she would know deep in her heart that he was truly gone, but the thread of hope was still there, so she wouldn't give up as easily as everyone else did. She was going to find him, even if it meant she had to turn the whole world inside out.

She didn't care about the mission on hand anymore. All that mattered was finding Naruto.

"Sakura!" she woke from her intent thoughts to Kakashi shaking her violently. The man who she had been treating was coughing up blood and was obviously in a tremendous amount of pain. Without realizing, Sakura's flow of chakra had decreased to a bare minimum, meaning that blood was flowing more freely than before. He had mere minutes to live.

"Shit!" she exclaimed. She needed to stabilize this man or he was going to die, but no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't concentrate. Finding Naruto was the only thing on her mind. Nothing else mattered…

Eventually he went limp, and rolled off of her lap.

_Crap._ "What have I done?" she whispered to herself.

"He was going to die anyway, Sakura. Its fine, we got more important information than what we bargained for," he tried to reassure her, but it wasn't going to work. The guilt of letting this man die filled her brain, along with her thoughts of Naruto and the Akatsuki. Her mind was reeling and her emotions were all over the place, so she did the only thing that seemed right at a time like this; she put her head in her hands, and cried.

She felt a hand on her arm pulling her upward, and suddenly Kakashi's arms were around her.

"It's okay," he said, "we'll go get you cleaned up, and then we'll find Deidara. We'll be one step closer to Naruto. This was _all_ worth it, I promise." Each one of his words just made Sakura sob harder into his chest. Gestures like this were rare, but Sakura didn't find them strange. After all, they were the final two original members of team 7, over the past couple of years they had grown closer, confiding in each other with things that would never grace the ears of anyone else, and despite the fact that she was crying like a baby, he truly did make her feel better. He was like the big brother she never had.

"Come on," he urged gently. "We can go find a motel to check into." Sakura nodded silently, and they went on their way.

* * *

><p>Deidara looked out of the window of his motel room. It had been a boring week so far. He and Tobi were on business in town meeting some guy who wanted to fund the Akatsuki for a little bit of power. Deidara hated these kinds of missions; it was usually Hidan and Kakuzu who took care of money business, but ever since they both died, teams had been taking turns doing the missions that would usually be assigned to them. Deidara hoped that leader would hurry up and find some new rouge ninja to join with them; he said he had been looking for nearly a year now, but nobody met his incredibly high standards yet. Deidara just wanted someone to take care of these stupid, boring money jobs.<p>

They had been here longer than usual, which really pissed him off. It looked like a dirty old town, but the large, windowless factories and seemingly deserted houses made for great underground businesses and drug trade. Deidara was seriously tempted to try some of their shit out, he was that bored. He knew if he really wanted to, he could get some without even having to pay a cent considering his status as a member of the most feared criminal organization in the ninja world, but that tiny little piece inside of himself that was still slightly civilized told him it was best not to get into those things, especially at such a young age. Plus, he had an early start tomorrow, and he wouldn't want to be going out looking half dead the next day.

He focused his attention on a couple walking along the street, probably going for some romantic night walk. He figured this would be the best place to take one in this foul place anyways; they were on the outskirts of town, and the other side of the street was just a long plain of grass stretching out as far as the eye could see. Not the prettiest place, but a nice change of pace from the usual scenery around here.

It looked pretty normal from far away, but at a closer inspection Deidara realized something strange; the couple was covered in blood. _What the fuck?_ He thought to himself. Getting closer to the window and squinting a little bit, he noticed that yes, indeed, the woman was covered in blood. Clearly not her own, which made it even weirder. The man had a little patch of red on him now and then, but it wouldn't have been totally noticeable had he not been accompanied by the girl. He watched them, and realized that they were heading to the motel, too.

He stared at them intently, and then something clicked. Deidara's eyes widened and he ducked down from his windowsill as fast as he could. He had to get Tobi, and fast.

He raced out of his room and flew down the stairs as fast as he could. On the first floor of the motel was a bar that was surprisingly packed for the small size of the town they were in. His eyes scanned the room for Tobi, who couldn't be that hard to find considering he was probably the only one in the bar wearing a bright orange mask. Sure enough, he was one of the first people Deidara spotted. He was sitting at a table by himself, with a full plate of food just begging to be eaten.

He nearly delayed what he was going to just to see Tobi take his mask off to eat, but he thought that it probably wasn't the best time for that, so he made his way through the crowd as speedily as he could, earning himself a few annoyed glances from some of patrons that he'd accidently knocked.

"Deidara senpai! What brings you down here? Ooooh, have you come to eat with me?" he danced around, his oversized sleeves dipping in his food dish a couple of times without him realizing. Deidara suppressed the urge to gag.

"No. We need to get out of here now, yeah." he tried to give Tobi the best 'I'm not freakin' kidding right now' face he could manage, but by the looks of things it wasn't working.

"But s-senpai! I just got my meal, that's no fair." He crossed his arm over his chest, and Deidara could sense the pout that was under his mask.

The bell signalling that the front door was opening rung and Deidara gave the quickest glance to confirm his suspicions. _Damn it, they're here._ He gazed at Tobi who was still acting like a fool as always. _We have no time for this. _Deidara grabbed Tobi by the arm and dragged him towards the stairs. They were mostly ignored, considering that all eyes were on the bloodied up pair that had just entered, but he could almost guarantee that the two people that they were trying to avoid would've seen them anyway.

"Get your stuff and meet me outside," he ordered. "I trust you saw who just entered the bar."

"I didn't see anyone, but I trust my senpai to be guiding me the right way!" He gave Deidara a salute, before heading off to his room.

Deidara rushed off into his room too, and gathered all the stuff he could, while simultaneously munching up a chakra bird to carry it all. Once he was finished, he launched the bird out the window and jumped on. Scanning the area, he deemed it safe and landed his bird behind a large cluster of bushes, concealing himself from anyone who would otherwise be able to see from the windows.

"Deidara-senpaaai! I'm stuck." He didn't even bother trying to look. _They had no time for this._

"Tobi, you fool. Get down already."

Tobi giggled and appeared next to him. "Kidding!"

"Jump on the bird," Deidara instructed. "I'll explain everything while we're making our escape."

"There isn't going to be an escape to make," a stern voice spoke from beyond the bushes that they were concealed it. Ducking his head around, Deidara cursed himself for not realizing that the two of them had pursued them outside of the hotel. The Akatsuki's cover had been blown.

"Deidara! Look, it's the copy ninja and his little pink student. What are they doing here?" Tobi cried.

"That's what I was trying to warn you about, yeah," Deidara sighed. "What kind of joke is this? Staying in the same motel as some goody goody leaf nin that we've avoided for two years? Ridiculous."

"Actually," started the girl who had spoken before, "We came here because we sensed your chakra. We've been looking for you all day, but we weren't expecting to find you with your partner."

_What? _Deidara's eyes widened, but he regained his calm in a matter of seconds, and put on his signature smirk. "Hn, so I guess you're looking for a battle, but seeing the state you're in now I wouldn't think you'd put up much of a fight." He looked her up and down. Up close, although it was still clear the blood was not her own, but it was also clear that she was fatigued and tired, probably from an intense battle that used up large amounts of chakra.

"No," she murmured, "we don't want to fight. We want to know about Naruto, and what you've done to him. After that, we'll let you go." Her voice was low, and you could tell she wasn't fond of the idea. Heck, Deidara wasn't even fond of the idea. He did want to keep Akatsuki's cover and actions on the down low, mainly for fear of what would happen to him if he didn't obey the rules, but if there was a chance to fight then he was going to be one to turn it down.

Still, he might still get what he wanted. "I don't know anything about what that pathetic little monster is up to these days. I want to find him just as much as you do, little girl." Deidara grinned, seeing the pinkettes facial expression grow grim. Just one little push would do it. "If you asked me, he's probably lying dead somewhere, yeah. Wouldn't you agree, Tobi?"

"Don't lie to me!" She growled at him from deep in her throat and her blood covered fists were clenched tightly by her sides. She looked as if she were about to launch herself at him, but Kakashi put his hand on his shoulder, stopping her. Taking a deep breath, she regained her cool and continued on. "You're more of a monster than Naruto will ever be. The demon inside him doesn't define who he is, his actions do, and if you ask me, the Akatsuki's actions are far more monstrous than any jinchuuriki's ever were."

Deidara raised an eyebrow. "If you say so, yeah. Well, if that's all, I think we'll be on our way." He glanced behind him to Tobi, who started making his way toward Deidara and the bird.

"If you don't tell me what you know about Naruto, I swear to the heavens that I will beat it out of you." It was obviously unexpected and not part of their plain, because the copy nins face lit up with surprise, but when he opened his mouth to say something, she stopped him with an icy cold sidewards glance.

Deidara grinned as excitement rose inside him. He was finally getting what he wanted. He rose up on the bird, leaving Tobi to fight his own fight.

"_Let's go then."_

* * *

><p>Authors note: So I'm hoping this has basically set the scene for the rest of the story. Everything will of course be explained in more depth the further we get into the story, but hopefully I've made it mysterious enough so far to keep you guys interested. I may be a little rusty as I only just went back to school this week, so my writing will probably be a little unrefined, but I checked over it a few times and tried to make it to the best of my abilities.<p>

Its M right now for blood, gore, ect but I may put smut in later chapters.

Any rates and reviews would be appreciated so I know what I can improve on for future chapters.

Just a side note, as its set two years in the future Sakura is now 18, Deidara is 21 and Kakashi and Tobi would be early to mid-thirties I believe. I set this up so Naruto going missing was after Kakuzu and Hidans death and before Deidara's (as you can probably tell), which means any event after their death didn't happen, apart from the collection of three new tailed beasts as I stated in the chapter.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading it! Xxx


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura was running along the grass plain, quick on her feet to keep up with the man who was flying above her. She felt sick and fatigued, in no state to fight at all; that was why Kakashi had suggested trying to persuade them to talk at first at first, then placing a tracking jutsu on them so that they could fight later when they were in better condition, or could call for backups. It was a bad idea, thinking back on it, but it was also a bad idea to challenge an S-rank criminal to a fight when she didn't even know if her body would be able to hold out.

Even so, determination was set on her features and she pushed herself harder than she ever had before. This was the most important task she had ever been assigned to. Sakura had long accepted that Sasuke was not coming back to the village, as he chose to leave. Naruto, on the other hand, was a mystery. Nobody knew what happened to him, and this was her one chance to find out.

Apparently choosing where it was he wanted to fight, Deidara came to a stop, hovering in the air above her. They were in a completely open area, with only a few trees dotted here and there. They must have been at least a kilometre out from the village, which was good considering that no buildings would be destroyed, but also bad for her as she had lost track of her partner ages ago, and was not only worried for his sake, but for her own.

"Just come down here and tell me what you know about Naruto!" She yelled up at him, deciding that a little bit of intel and a criminal on the loose was probably better than no intel at all, a dead Sakura and a criminal still on the loose. Her confidence was beginning to falter, as when they stopped her breath had finally caught up with her, making her resist the urge to clench at her stomach and gasp for air. "There's no need for this to happen. I'm fine with the Akatsuki the way they are, but what I'm not fine with is my best friend missing. I just want to know what happened to him, please!"

"Sorry, girly, but I have no idea what happened to that precious boyfriend of yours, yeah," he said with a cocky smirk gracing his face. "As you said before, you're going to have to beat it out of me. I look forward to seeing what you can do." And with that, he threw 6 small chakra clay bugs at her. She leapt backwards in time to avoid the explosion, but the commotion and smoke had given him a chance to fly another explosive bird her way.

Sakura fell to the floor at her own accord, feeling the massive heat of the explosion on top of her back, as the deafening sound made her cringe and cover her ears.

_This isn't good_, she thought. _I'm completely on the defensive, not to mention the only jutsu I can manage right now is a chakra infused hit which wouldn't reach him unless I jumped, but if I jumped, I'd be vulnerable to a direct his from his bombs._

Sakura groaned, and lifted herself into a crouching position. Deidara was up in the sky, laughing like a maniac, yelping something about 'art'. She nearly laughed, _old habits die hard_.

She grabbed a few shuriken and flicked them his way, hoping to catch him of guard as he was in his little art frenzy. Needless to say, they were dodged without even a second look.

What was there left to do? Sakura scanned the field. There was nothing she could use for weapons, and nothing she could use to get closer to him without increasing her chances of getting hit. Her eyes fixated on a tree, about 50 metres away. _What could I do with that_? She wondered. Even if she didn't have anything to think of now, it was her only hope, so she sprinted off in direction of the large tree.

"Ha! Did my art scare you away? Hn. And here I was thinking that you would put up a fight." He said, arrogance radiating from him as strong as than ever.

She kept running. It wasn't far now, if she could only just…

_Bang_! She heard the sound before she felt the pain. It was her right leg. She turned her gaze to see what had happened to it, and thanked the gods that it was still in one piece.

One very, _very_ bent up piece.

Sakura's weight shifted and she fell, unable to keep herself standing. She couldn't use medical ninjutsu in the middle of a battle as it would leave her wide open for more attacks. But what else was there to do?

She didn't have time to think, as another clay sculpture, this time in the shape of a lady bug, flew towards her. Sakura managed to dodge by rolling over, but she still caught the impact of it on the same side as her damaged leg.

What the hell was she going to do? She was in out of her mind to challenge him to a fight. She was hopeless against him. There was nothing she could do apart from hope that he got close to her, which was obviously not going to happen considering he was a long range specialist.

Her gaze shifted to the tree she had been running for.

That was it. Sakura's last chance. Getting up, she limped as fast as she could towards it.

"You still trying to run away, hn? That's pretty fucking pathetic." Sakura was glad he was so cocky and oblivious to what she was attempting to do, as he took his time trying to counter measure it. She must admit, she was pretty damned embarrassed, but pride didn't matter when you were staring death in the face. Sakura hoped that her plan worked; it was a long shot, but if it worked she would leave with her life and hopefully some new information about her former teammate. That thought was what kept Sakura going, even if her leg was searing with pain beyond belief. She had to take it, it was her last chance.

She finally reached the tree, and took a second to rest herself on it. She figured that resting would be fine considering that right now Deidara was just laughing at her and not bothering to show her any more of his 'artworks.' She took in a deep breath, and wrapped her arms around the tree. He would soon realise that she was up to something, so this had to be fast.

She willed every last ounce of her energy into one pulling motion, and the tree reluctantly made its way out of the ground. Sakura fell after that, her one working leg not being able to support the full weight of her and a massive tree.

She would have to use her arms and her arms alone. It would be hard throwing something without any leg support, but it would have to do.

She was running incredibly low on chakra, and she could already see Deidara readying a bomb to throw at her, so this had to be fast.

She yelled from the bottom of her throat, made one ungraceful movement, and with 80% muscle, 20% chakra, she launched the tree into the air.

It flew towards him. He had barely any time to react, as an object with that much weight wouldn't take its dear time to fly through the sky, but he still managed to fly out of the way, shocked look turning into one smug little smirk.

Sakura wore a smirk of her own. She was about to pass out, but she had one last trump card before she let herself go.

She pulled hard at the chakra string she had attached to the tree, and it knocked Deidaras bird from behind. He stumbled off the sculpture, with a string of swears. Sakura let the string go, and let out a series of exhausted pants.

Deidara was about to hit the ground at what looked to be a position that would snap his hip, but Sakura had overlooked one tiny detail about Deidara's art; it responded to whatever its creator wanted it to do.

The bird swooped up from behind him, and caught him on its back.

"Fuck," breathed Sakura. "Fuckfuckfuckfuck."

The bird continued flying at a low altitude, and that was when Sakura realised it was headed straight for her. Panic filled every ounce of her body, and in desperation she tried throwing a few more shuriken in his direction, but to no avail. It was over. It was really, truly over.

Deidara landed before her, flicking his hair to reveal his scope for a split second. If he weren't about to kill her, she might think he were a little handsome. Maybe if he lost that cocky attitude of his. "You know what, girl? I like your determination, yeah. I must admit, you weren't that much fun, but in your dying moments maybe it'd give you some peace of mind to know that you impressed me in at least one way." Sakura felt like spitting in his face. As _if_ she cared about impressing him.

He opened his mouth to continue, but Sakura threw a shaky fist in his direction, which he caught with ease. "See what I mean? There's that determination, hn."

"Shut up," she growled. She felt something nibble at her fist. What the fuck does he think he's doing? "And stop fucking biting me you freak!"

He let go of her fist, and plummeted his own mouthy hand his pouch. She all too well that that pouch was full of clay, and with Deidara readying a bomb in front of her very eyes, she felt nauseous. It really was her final moments.

She raised her fist again, only to be ignored this time.

"Hn. Stupid little girl," he muttered, dodging the punch that flew his way without even blinking an eye.

He looked her straight in the face, blue eyes sparkling with what seemed to be desire. A manic smile graced his mouth, and he made a hand sign.

Sakura hadn't even noticed him finishing the bomb up, proving just how powerless she was at this very moment. She frantically scoured her body to find it and be rid of it, but she was too late.

"Katsu!" Deidara yelled. The last thing she saw was his deranged face, laughing hysterically as the sound of the bomb blasted her ears. Then all she could see was black.

* * *

><p>Sakura woke from her hospital bed with a jolt, supressing a scream. It had been three long days since the fight that took place Kojogakure with Deidara and Tobi, and every night since then, she had had the same vivid dream, over and over and over. It reminded her to never be so careless with S-rank criminals again, especially when she wasn't in good condition. She had never been so damned close to death in her life, but luckily, Kakashi had been unharmed in his fight, so he had come to her aid.<p>

Of course, Sakura was far from unharmed. She had no idea why Deidara hadn't finished her off, but she had awoken on Kakashi's back as they fled the town to avoid any further confrontations. On the second day on their way back from Kojo, Sakura was reversed summoned back to Konoha. Apparently Kakashi had sent word to Tsunade that Sakura wasn't in a fitting condition for a mission and requested for her to be summoned by Katsuyu so Tsunade could take a look at her for any serious injuries.

It turns out that she had severe chakra depletion, and a not-fully-healed yet broken leg, plus some third degree burns. She had attempted to heal her leg and burns on their way home, but she wasn't strong enough to do so, as the fight took the last of her stamina out of her. Apart from that, Tsunade said that Sakura had to cheer up; she thought that she seemed too depressed, although Sakura failed to see how that would have any impact on the healing process.

When Sakura had asked what would happen to Kakashi, Tsunade had said that she sent another squad of larger numbers this time to meet him half way, so they could finish what had barely been started by Kakashi and Sakura. They had only sent a two man squad before because the mission required discreetness, but with news of the Akatsuki, Tsunade hadn't wanted to take any more risks, as the Hidden Leaf was in enough danger as it was.

Before they had fled, they were investigating a supposed source in Kojo leaking information about Konoha to the other hidden villages. Nobody knew how Kojo even had that kind of information – they had once attempted to become a ninja village, but the tiny size of the town plus the fact that the area was barely suited for normal humans to live there let alone ninja meant that the venture was short lived, lasting less than three years, but even in those short three years, Kojo had had no contact whatsoever with Konoha. Whatever was happening over there was no short of a mystery, and to be quite honest, it sent chills down Sakura's spine. She hoped Kakashi got out of there okay.

A slight creak brought Sakura's sights on the hospital door, and a tall, fit blonde entered, accompanied by a bouquet of colourful flowers.

She entered, but stopped mid-way to the bed with a surprised look on her face.

"Oh, Sakura! You're awake, I'm so glad," without a second thought, Ino rushed to the chair next to the bed and placed the flowers on the bedside table.

Sakura smiled. "It's not like I was comatose or anything. No need to be so surprised."

"I know, I know, but apparently you were real beat up in that fight, or at least that's what I heard. I thought you'd be out like a light," she gushed. "But I'm glad you're not. Are you okay?"

Sakura groaned. _Great_. It had been a day since she got back to the village and already people had word of her humiliating defeat. How did anyone even know? She had only told Shizune and Tsunade the specifics, and even then she hadn't gone into much detail. _Maybe it was in Kakashi's message,_ she wondered.

"Yes, I'm fine. I would have beaten the pants of that guy if I already wasn't running low on chakra. Did you know that the only reason we found them was 'cause of a guy on his deathbed told us that Deidara was the one who blew his arm off? I spent most of my chakra trying to heal him, plus we had been on the road with limited food supplies and I forgot to bring my damn food pills! But I swear I'm gonna get him for what he did to me," Sakura rambled, getting out a tiny little piece of her pent up feelings.

"I'd be glad to help you with that," offered Ino. "Not that you would need it, of course."

Sakura laughed lightly, despite herself, and silence hung in the room. It wasn't awkward, but she was pretty sure neither of them knew what to say. The Akatsuki was a touchy topic nowadays.

"So…" Ino started, after a couple of minutes. "I was wondering what you found out about Naruto. Everyone in the village is on edge." Her voice was soft, and she was looking down. "I-I'm sorry. I know it must be hard to talk about, so don't feel pressured or anything."

Sakura managed a light smile and tried her best 'I'm okay' face. "We didn't find out much at all. That's the whole reason I fought him in the first place; to get information. I'm sure you can see how well that went."

Ino's already-sad face dropped even further. She was never one of the ones who outright said that Naruto was obviously dead, but she wasn't a firm believer that he was alive either. Sakura thought that like most of the Konoha ninja, Ino was searching for a reason to believe that he was still alive. Naruto was one of the most irritating, stupid idiots that Sakura had ever met, and most of her peers agreed, but somewhere along their long journey he had made his way into their hearts. Ino and her team were attached to Naruto more than their other peers, obviously not as much as Sakura, but they all had felt in debt to him for helping them take down Kakuzu and avenge their well-loved sensei. Now that Naruto was lost, the whole of Konoha was like a big puzzle, missing the one piece in the middle. It wasn't right at all.

"It's alright, Ino," Sakura tried to reassure her, although her own inner turmoil was probably a lot worse than Ino's. "We got information that the Akatsuki are still active. It's invaluable, and it will help the shinobi world in the long run. Don't be down. Plus, as soon as I get out of this bed I'm going to find that evil group of nimrods and every last bit of information I can out of them."

Ino smiled back. Sakura knew it wasn't real, but if Sai had taught her anything, it was that a fake smile was better than no smile at all.

* * *

><p>Deidara sighed as he walked through the final entry doors of the Akatsuki's main base. He understood why they took so many precautions secure the place, but it was pretty fuckin' irritating if he did say so himself. The first door had a key pad with a 7 letter long password. Once you entered, it looked like a run down, abandoned hotel. The next bit was Deidara's least favourite, the elevator. It required another complicated password punched into the elevator floor keys, or else after a minute the floor of the elevator would open up to a trap door that led down to the dungeons. Thinking back, Deidara remembered his first few years of the Akatsuki getting stuck down there a couple of times and having to call for help. Needless to say, he memorized that password pretty fast. The last entryway was at the floor the elevator opened up to – a simple door that required an Akatsuki ring and face recognition to pass.<p>

After that last door, the battered down, dirty old hotel opened up to a whole new world. At first, all that was visible was a long hallway with regal carpets and old paintings that Deidara had to disdainfully acknowledge the beauty of. The hallway had no doors coming off it, but once the end was reached there was a large living room, also covered in elegant carpets, with old but quality couches facing a fireplace with a TV placed on top of it. There were other things dotted around the room too, like tables and general stationary supplies that nobody used, but all in all it was a large room that always felt surprisingly empty, although the emptiness had never bothered Deidara.

On the side opposite that of which Deidara had just entered, there were two doors side by side. Deidara knew off by heart that one door held the bedrooms, while the other door held the things essential to any home, plus a library that was used for studies. The Akatsuki main base also had numerous training grounds, a greenhouse, and other things that would benefit ninja in their journey.

Deidara contemplated going to go train, but the lazy side of him decided against it. he would have time for that later. He walked through the lounge, scanning the area for any signs of anyone being home. Tobi had left him to go eat at one of the nice little restaurants that the village offered, but Deidara had declined his offer to go – he usually would not have turned down the chance to go out, but it was particularly rainy today, more than usual for the Hidden Rain Village at least. It looked like it would hail, and Deidara was tired and fatigued even if the mission they had just finished hadn't taken much out of him.

After the realization that no one was here, or at least in this area, Deidara fell back against the couch, arms draping over either side of the couch.

He figured he should have put the fire on before he'd gotten himself comfy, but at least the TV remote was sitting next to him on the sofa.

He flipped on the TV, and of course none other than the Ninja News was on.

The news lady was some frail looking lady from Kumogakure was speaking, and before Deidara could flip the channel to something else, the words she spoke caught his attention.

"And a warning to all shinobi out there; the Akatsuki have been confirmed to be active and apparently still together. According to multiple sources, a fight ensued with two Hidden Leaf shinobi. Well known member Deidara, and his partner, known as Tobi, were spotted and soon begun battling with the said Leaf shinobi. Whilst the Leaf were defeated, there were no casualties or serious injuries. We believe that this is Akatsuki's way of revealing themselves yet again. No further details are known, but we warn Shinobi of all lands to stay safe and –"

Deidara switched off the television with a barrage of swear words. How the _fuck_ had that already gotten out? Those stupid ninja brats shouldn't even be home yet! When leader finds out about this…

"I see," a monotone voice sounded from behind him. Deidara had to supress the urge to swear again. How the hell did that guy conceal his presence so well? "Well, Deidara, it seems you have blown our cover."

"I didn't mean to, Leader, yeah," Said, Deidara, turning around to face the pierced man. He tried to sound as calm as possible, but he could practically hear himself tremble. "They were just in the same town as us, we had no choice."

"It is of no matter anymore." Said Pain, looking ahead at nothing in particular.

Deidara was dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"It does not matter anymore. We were hiding for a reason, and that reason is now no more." Pain met his gaze. "But let this be a warning. Do not make a habit of breaking our rules, Deidara."

Deidara let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding in. "Yes, Leader."

"I have come to tell you that there will be an Akatsuki meeting in five days, giving everyone time to get back home and be here in person. Be there at exactly 7 pm in the meeting room."

Deidara's mind was reeling, full of questions he knew would be left unanswered for a few days because he wasn't going to risk asking Leader what all this nonsense was about. For one, he didn't get in trouble for disobeying orders, and suddenly Leader had called a full in person Akatsuki meeting; they hadn't had one of those in nearly a year. Something was up, and Deidara was longing for answers, but he knew he would have to wait to get them. Instead, he simply answered "Yes, Leader," obediently.

With that, Pain walked back towards the hallway, leaving eerie footsteps in his wake.

* * *

><p>Ino had been sitting at her kitchen table with Shikamaru and Choji discussing their recent mission, when she had heard her doorbell ring. She hadn't been expecting anyone, so had rolled her eyes and made her way idly to the door, but what she had found there was definitely not what she had been expecting.<p>

Now, five minutes later, she again sat at her kitchen table with Shikamaru and Choji. They were all tense at the presence of another sitting at the head of Ino's table, looking at them with unreadable eyes.

Tsunade had paid a visit to Ino's house without invitation or notice; everyone in the room assumed something horrible must be up, but the Hokage herself had spoken barely as much as sentence since she arrived.

Sick of the silence and unanswered questions, Ino cleared her throat, drawing all three pairs of eyes to her. "So, Lady Hokage, as much as I am honoured that you would grace us with your presence, especially in my own home, I have a lot of questions. The first is; why on earth are you here?" The words flew out of Ino's mouth without a second thought to what she was saying, but the Hokage had never been one to fuss over formalities, so she simply gave a thoughtful smile.

"I'm here to talk about Sakura," she begun. "You went to see her today, am I correct?"

Ino nodded. "Yes, I visited her earlier this morning."

Tsunade breathed a sigh of what seemed to be relief. "You see, I wanted to get your point of view, as a close friend of Sakura's. I've been advised by the elders to get her back into action as soon as possible as she's a capable jounin with passion to find Naruto and defeat the Akatsuki, but all of my instincts are telling me to do just the opposite."

"Why is that, milady?" Ino questioned.

"I'm sure you know that she was badly beaten in that last fight of hers, with the bomber." Ino nodded, so Tsunade continued. "With what I can gather from what Sakura has told me and from Kakashi's report, the reason she was taken down was because she was acting recklessly. I have no doubt in my mind that Sakura could take down a member of the Akatsuki with the skills she has now, but her eagerness to battle them and find her lost teammate clouded her judgement and nearly cost Sakura her life, and yet there has been no change in attitude, she still believes that what she did was an acceptable thing to do if it meant getting intel about Naruto." Tsunade paused, and looked Ino in the eyes. "All I want to know from you is if you believed that her attitude was different, too. More reckless that the usual Sakura."

Ino thought back to their conversation. She had stayed in the hospital for about an hour, and she did note that Sakura seemed even more determined to find Naruto and defeat the Akatsuki than she usually was, but she had seen it as a positive thing. The way that Tsunade had explained the situation did give Ino another perspective to look at; would the Sakura she was talking to at the hospital be endangered by her anger in a life or death fight with a member of the Akatsuki?

Ino thought her answer through thoroughly before giving it. "I do think that Sakura seemed more reckless, in a way. I see where you're going with this, Milady. I believe that Sakura's anger would fuel her to become even stronger in the face of danger like that of the Akatsuki, but that would only be the case if she was at full power. If she was weakened, like she was in the fight with Deidara, it would become a hindrance to her rational thought, proving to be a danger to her and possibly those around her."

Tsunade nodded. "That's why I think I should give Sakura some time off to cool her head, but if I do that it may just wind her up even more, not to mention I'd have people on my back for wasting her talents." Tsunade her eyes, thoughtfully.

"If I may interject," started Shikamaru, "there may be a solution to that, but it could end up doing the opposite as to what its intended for."

Tsunade opened her eyes and looked at him expectantly. "Do continue."

"Send her on a mission. Tell her, and the Elders, that the Akatsuki were said to have been in a certain location that you want her to investigate, then send her to a place where the Akatsuki never have been and never will be." He finished with a shrug. "Being away from home for a while with no action could relax her and clear her thoughts, or it could wind her up even more because she would be looking everywhere for the enemy, yet she won't find them. Truthfully, if what you've said about Sakura is true, then the latter outcome is probably the more likely one, but unless you want to confine her in hospital for a while, I can't think of much else to do."

Tsunade looked thoughtful. "Actually, that might just work."

Shikamaru gave a lazy smile. "Glad I could be of some help. Good luck with it."

Tsunade nodded thanks in his direction. "I told you I had been advised to put her right back on the battle field, right? The reason I came here was because I don't think the elders would've approved of me summoning you to the office if all I wanted to talk about was going easy on Sakura, they think I do it because she's my student. But even so, they have good reasoning to want to get her out there immediately. Sakura not being around would definitely be a disadvantage to us. She's one of the people completely devoted to saving Naruto, and she'd be hard to replace." She chewed her finger in thought.

Shikamaru chuckled next to her. "Well why don't you hire us to be of service? We owe Naruto, and him not being around is troublesome to the village. Three of us level-headed ninja devoting ourselves to find him is better than one emotional woman right now." That last comment earned him a kick in the leg by Ino, which in response he muttered 'troublesome' to. Before Ino could give him a punch to the head, Tsunade responded to Shikamaru's request.

"That sounds ideal," she said, beaming. "So how about we start tomorrow morning?"

"Why not this evening?" Suggested Ino.

"But we were gonna get barbeque tonight!" Choji spoke up for the first time since Tsunade had gotten there, and by the look on his face he immediately regretted his words. "Sorry, Lady Hokage. Tonight is as good as ever."

Tsunade gave him a warm smile. "How about I meet you guys at the barbeque place at seven pm and drop off some documents?"

Choji obviously wanted to say yes, but looked to Ino to answer for him.

"If it's not too much trouble for you, Milady, then we'd like to take you up on that offer."

"Barbeque at seven it is, then."

* * *

><p>Okay, first of all, do you guys prefer the spelling 'Pein' or 'Pain'? I'm using Pain for now because my computer processes it better, but in the long run it's up to you guys!<p>

I hadn't really planned to have anyone else's point of view apart from Deidara and Sakura, but I think I just decided that adding some Ino in there could benefit the story. At first I only added that bit in so the next chapter would flow well, but I think I like the idea of team ten looking for Naruto.

Sorry not much interesting happened this chapter, but I'm going to kick start things next chapter, which will be out soon!

Reviews would be appreciated so I know what I can improve on and what not.

Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter xx


	3. Chapter 3

Authors note: I'm incredibly sorry for the long wait! My laptop broke, but it's all fixed now so hopefully I'll be updating more often.

Also, before you read on, know that I've updated the previous two chapters. Most of all its just fixing up some writing mistakes or changing a minor detail that won't affect the storyline, but I wanted to make chapter 2 longer so I added in a little bit from Ino's point of view and I decided I'm going to keep running with that occasionally for some of the story. It's the last section of chapter two and is probably worth checking out considering the next bit I write from Inos POV may not make sense if you haven't read it. Totally up to you though (obviously)

This chapters a little short, but I think I got all the information in that I need to, if I added in any more then I think I would be overloading all the information you can take in at once, haha. I felt like I should've done a little more considering how long it's been since I've posted, but I'm hoping that from here on in I'll be posting regularly so fingers crossed you guys can bear with me!

Anyways, enjoy the chapter! XXX

* * *

><p>It had been about a week since the incident, and apart from a slight ache in her leg, Sakura was fully healed. The miracles of medical ninjustu never ceased to surprise her, even if she was experienced in the art herself.<p>

Now that she was fully healed she no longer needed to be confined to her house with daily hospital check-ups, meaning that she was just itching for a mission, and with the new information that had been revealed this week about the Akatsuki, she was hoping it was something that would lead her to find Naruto.

She had made her way up the Hokage Tower with a spring in her step, but that spring vanished and was replaced with caution once she saw the commotion coming from outside the Tsunades office.

"I want two teams of ANBU and two teams of medical ninja to get out there _pronto!_" Tsunade barked. Sakura had to flatten herself against the wall to avoid being trampled by the numerous shinobi that flung themselves out of the room barely a second after the order had been given.

The chaos had come and gone in less than a few seconds, leaving Sakura to wonder what it was that had caused it all. She stepped carefully into Tsunade's office, scared of what news was awaiting her.

Tsunade was sitting at her desk, eyes shut tight and brows furrowed. Her fingers massaged her temples, a sign that she was in deep thought. Shizune stood beside her, clutching Tonton, and going by the looks on their faces, Sakura could tell something bad had happened.

"M-Milady," Sakura stumbled. Tsunade responded with a twitch of her eyebrow. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was just on my way here to see if there were any missions available and I couldn't help noticing that – "

"It's Kakashi," Tsunade interrupted, opening her eyes to look at Sakura straight in the face.

Sakura's stomach dropped. "What happened to him?"

There was a moment of silence. Tsunade took in a deep breath, but didn't say anything. It was obvious that she was worried just as much as Sakura was – these past few years weren't any better for her than they had been for Sakura.

"If I may, milady," interjected Shizune. Tsunade nodded. "We haven't confirmed that anything bad has happened to Kakashi himself," at that, Sakuras face lit up. "But, his whole squad has been in an incident." Sakuras face dropped again. _Shit._

"What happened?" Sakura all but demanded.

Shizune remained calm, "They were supposed finish the mission that you two had started, but they were ambushed. From the report we can gather that the majority of shinobi who went on the mission are severely injured, and there weren't enough medical nins to look after them all."

She couldn't believe her ears. _Ambushed?_

A harsh lump appeared in Sakura's throat, but she refused to let herself cry. She took in a deep breath, and forced words out of her mouth before her voice could crack. "It'll take the team you sent too long to get there! Please let me help… I may not be able to get them any faster, but I've been trained by the Hokage herself, and I-I…" She closed her eyes, begging the tears to leave. "I need to help Kakashi," she breathed. "He's the last member of Team Seven; I need to make sure he's okay."

"He will be okay," Tsunade assured her, although by the tone of her voice Sakura wondered if she believed the words that were coming out of her own mouth. "Kakashi the copy nin won't go down so easily, you should know that yourself, Sakura."

Sakura balled her hands into fists at her side. "Of course I know that. He was my _sensei,_ and he's the last member of the original Team Seven in Konohagakure. That's why I need to help him!"

Tsunade clenched her jaw and shot an angry look in Sakura's direction. Sakura wasn't quite sure what she had done to earn such a look, but even so she braced herself to get yelled at.

"Sakura, I know you want to help Kakashi. I believe he's alright, and it may be hard to regain your composure being unsure of that, but I have a mission for you. It's an important mission, but if you want to wait until it's confirmed that Kakashi is okay then you may turn it down, just this once."

Sakura blinked back in surprise as the words that came out of Tsunade's mouth weren't that of scolding but words of comfort. "Thank you, milady. What is this mission about, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Its top secret, but I can tell you it's to do with the Akatsuki."

Sakura's eyes widened. "If I don't take this mission, will it be passed on to someone else?"

Tsunade nodded. "I can hold it til tonight, but the importance of it means that if you don't take it I would have to give it to someone else. If you would like to, come back at six tonight and give me your decision."

Sakura nodded. "Thank you, Lady Hokage. I will see you tonight."

Tsunade smiled. "I'll see you then, Sakura. Don't worry too much."

Sakura left the tower feeling conflicted. In all honesty, she wanted to wait until Kakashi got back home until she went outside of the village. It wasn't that she was reliant on him, she just wanted to make sure he came home okay, but if she did end up staying home she would be wasting an opportunity to get her precious old teammate back. Tsunade said the mission would be given to someone else if Sakura didn't take it, which would be reason enough for anyone else to stay home and wait for their loved ones to come back, but Sakura didn't trust anyone else enough to do the mission unless it was someone as close to Naruto as herself, and that would limit her to two people; Kakashi and Tsunade, both of who were unable to do it.

Sakura sighed to herself and tried to drop the matter from her mind. She would have all day to decide what she wanted to do.

Walking through the bustling streets of Konoha, she found herself reminiscing about the times when the original team seven were all together. Maybe they would reunite one day and scoff down some ramen together and laugh at Naruto's ridiculous appetite. Or maybe not.

She felt anger stir inside her, a feeling she had become familiar with over the past few years. If it wasn't for the Akatsuki, they would still be together creating more memories. They took her friends away from her, and it was the most horrible feeling she had ever felt. Sasuke and Naruto… She had grown to believe Sasuke was long gone, but if the Akatsuki were defeated, would come home? If the Akatsuki were defeated, would Naruto still be missing? If the Akatsuki was defeated, would she still feel so frustrated?

_I don't want what happened to me to happen to anyone else, _she thought.

_I can't let what happened to our team happen to anyone else._

_I will stop the Akatsuki!_

Sakura didn't have to give a second thought to it. She was stupid for not thinking this in the first place. She had to take that mission, not just for herself, but for the rest of the shinobi world to. She would be the one to take them down.

She turned on her heels and stormed back to Tsunades office.

* * *

><p>Deidara sat at the long table of the Akatsuki meeting room with his head on his hands. The table was the only piece of furniture in the entire room, which left him feeling bored at the fact that there was nothing to look at, not to mention that every single current Akatsuki member had been in there for nearly ten minutes and nobody had spoken a word.<p>

Tobi sat beside him, fidgeting. "Ooh, Leader, please speak! Tobi is getting restless and is wondering what is of utmost importance that we all have to be here. Maybe we're going to play a game of I spy?"

Deidara glared at him. "Hn. I spy with what? The only thing in here is a table."

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with P! Dingdingdingding, time is up," he said, without giving a moment to think "The thing beginning with P is… Deidara-senpai!" He pointed at Deidara, who cocked his eyebrow at him.

"P?"

"P for Party-Pooper!" he exclaimed.

Before Deidara could growl at him, Pain, who was standing at the head if the table, spoke up.

"As much as I appreciate the enthusiasm, Tobi, this is a very important meeting. And it seems it is time to begin my explanation." He looked at Konan sitting beside him. "As we all know, there was a reason why I decided to put our ultimate mission on hiatus. That reason is no more."

Deidara's eyes opened wide in disbelief. What Pain said probably meant one of two two things; Konan had recovered from her supposed incurable disease, or they had found new, strong members to face the last of the Jinchuriki.

"Konan has recovered, and we have found new members," he said, confirming both of Deidaras suspicions. "Not only that, but our new members have a lead on the lost nine tails. We have two more Jinchuriki to go, then we can carry out what we have waited so long to do."

What had before been a boring silence was now an eruption of noise.

"Congratulations Konan!" grinned Kisame. "We knew you could do it!"

Deidara smiled. Secretly, he hated the organisation, but Konan was always there for everyone, almost like a mother figure. He had been sad when he found out she was sick, and would make her clay sculptures in his spare time as gifts; at first Pain wouldn't allow it because he believed they were explosive, but once Deidara explained they were just for decorative purposes he was fine with it. Hearing she was better was a relief, until it dawned on him;

The Akatsuki would now continue on their war torn path.

He kept the smile on his face for Konans sake, but he really felt like going and blowing something up.

"We will continue celebrations later," said Pain, "but for now I would like you to meet our two new members. You may enter."

The door on the far left side of the room opened, revealing two figures, contrasting in appearances.

The first was a woman with long, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was tall and of average weight. She looked like the typical girl Deidara would pick up at clubs; boring, but attractive enough to keep him entertained.

The second figure was a short, fragile looking boy. His hair was as short but messy, and as white as his skin, but what really struck Deidara was his eyes; they were the darkest, deepest black he had ever seen. Looking at them gave him a shiver, so he averted his eyes to the woman, who smiled at everyone who was gazing at the pair.

"Hello," she said cheerfully. "It's nice to meet you all. This here is my friend Mitsuko. He doesn't have a last name. I found him a few years back and named him myself. At the time I wasn't sure if he was a boy or a girl 'cause his hair was so long, so the names a little feminine but I think it suits him!" She giggled, clapping her hands together. "Oh, and I'm Megumi. Megumi Namikaze!"


End file.
